Adverbs of manner

Adverbios de modo

The adverbs of manner are invariable words that modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They

Los adverbios de modo son palabras invariables que modifican verbos, adjetivos y otros adverbios. Ellos

indicate how an action occurs or develops.

indican cómo ocurre o se desarrolla una acción.

Donald usually eats quickly.

Donald suele comer rápidamente.

In this example we can see that the adverb quickly indicates how Donald usually eats, providing more
En este ejemplo podemos ver que el adverbio indica rápidamente cómo suele comer Donald, proporcionando
information about the way in which the action of eating is performed.
Más información sobre la forma en que se realiza la acción de comer.

She sings very badly.

Ella canta muy mal.

In this example we can also see how the adverb badly provides information about the way the action
En este ejemplo también podemos ver cómo el adverbio mal informa sobre la forma en que se lleva a
of singing is performed.
a cabo la acción de canto se realiza.

2. How are adverbs of manner formed?

2. ¿Cómo se forman los adverbios de modo?

EXAMPLES (ADJECTIVE -
ADJECTIVES RULE ADVERB)

ADJETIVOS REGLAS EJEMPLOS(ADJETIVOS-

ADVERBIOS)

Easy Easily
Ending in consonant The -y is replaced by an -i plus the – Fácilmente
Fácil
Terminación en consonante La -y se reemplaza por una -i más la
plus -y ly ending Angry Angrily
más -y
Enojado Furiosamente
 terminación -ly

Tragic Tragically
Trágico trágicamente
Ending in -ic We add the ending -ally
terminando en -ic Añadimos la terminación -ally
Magic Magically
magia Por arte de magia

Horrible Horribly
We keep the -L and replace the -e with
Horrible Horriblemente
Ending in -le Mantenemos la -L y reemplazamos la -e
terminando en -le the -y
Terrible Terribly
por la -y
Terrible Terriblemente

Beautiful Beautifully
hermoso Hermosamente
Ending in -L We add -ly
Terminado en -L Nosotros agregamos -ly
General Generally
General Generalmente

Fast Fast
Rápido Rápido
No change at all
Ningún cambio en absoluto
Exceptions Hard Hard
Excepciones Duro Duro

Complete change Good Well

Cambio completo Bueno Bien
In general, adverbs of manner are formed by adding the suffix -ly to an adjective:
En general, los adverbios de modo se forman agregando el sufijo -ly a un adjetivo:

Quick. Quickly
Rápido Rápidamente
Bad Badly
Malo. Gravemente
 EXAMPLES (ADJECTIVE - ADVERB)
ADJECTIVES ADVERBS
EJEMPLOS (ADJETIVOS-
ADJETIVOS ADVERBIOS
ADVERBIOS)

Ending in consonant plus – The -y is replaced by an -i plus the –

Easy Easily
Terminación en consonante La -y se reemplaza por una -i más la
-y ly ending Fácil Fácilmente
Más -y terminación -ly

Ending in -ic We add the ending -ally Automatic Automatically

terminando en -ic Añadimos la terminación -ally Automático Automáticamente

We keep the -L and replace the –

Ending in -le Mantenemos la -L y reemplazamos la - Incredible Incredibly
e with the -y.
terminando en -le Increíble Increíblemente
e por la -y

We add -ly
Ending in -L General Generally
Nosotros agregamos -ly
Terminado en -L General Generalmente

No change at all Fast Fast

Ningún cambio en absoluto Rápido Rápido
Exceptions
Excepciones
Complete change Good Well
Cambio completo Bueno Bien

3. How are the adverbs of manner used?

3. ¿Cómo se usan los adverbios de modo?

Adverbs of manner are usually placed after the verb:

Los adverbios de modo suelen colocarse después del verbo:

• They dress elegantly.

• Se visten elegantemente
 • Some elderly people drive slowly.
• Algunas personas mayores conducen lentamente
• She works very hard.
• Ella trabaja muy duro.
• You speak English fluently.
• Hablas inglés fluidamente
• I slept badly last night.
• Dormí mal anoche
• The children did really well in their test.
• A los niños les fue muy bien en su prueba.
• He worked hard and got a promotion.
• Trabajó duro y consiguió un ascenso.
• The nurse picked up the baby gently.
• La enfermera recogió al bebé delicadamente.
• Try to do it carefully so we don’t have to redo it.
• Trate de hacerlo cuidadosamente para que no tengamos que volver a hacerlo.
• A car suddenly came round the corner and nearly hit us!
• ¡Un automóvil de repente dobló la esquina y casi nos atropella!
• Julie tearfully said goodbye to her boyfriend.
• Julie entre lágrimas se despidió de su novio.
• Go straight down this road then turn left
• Siga recto por esta calle y luego gire a la izquierda
• I hate getting up late.
• Odio levantarme tarde.
• My brother drives very fast and aggressively.
• Mi hermano maneja muy rápido y agresivamente.
• Kids, try to do your homework quietly, please.
• Niños, traten de hacer su tarea silenciosamente, por favor.
• She dresses very elegantly, doesn’t she?
• Se viste elegantemente, ¿no?
• Shall I close the lid tightly?
• ¿Debo cerrar bien la tapa?
• It rained heavily all through the night.
• Llovió mucho durante toda la noche.

An adverb of manner cannot be put between a verb and its direct object. The adverb must be placed
Un adverbio de modo no se puede poner entre un verbo y su objeto directo. El adverbio debe colocarse
either before the verb or at the end of the clause.
antes del verbo o al final de la cláusula.
Examples
Ejemplos

• He
ate greedily the chocolate cake. [incorrect]
• Comió con avidez el pastel de chocolate. [incorrecto]
• He ate the chocolate cake greedily. [correct]
• Se comió el pastel de chocolate con avidez. [correcto]
• He greedily ate the chocolate cake. [correct]
 • Se comió con avidez el pastel de chocolate. [correcto]
• He gave us generously the money. [incorrect]
• Nos dio generosamente el dinero. [incorrecto]
• He gave us the money generously. [correct]
• Nos dio el dinero generosamente. [correcto]
• He generously gave us the money. [correct]
• Él generosamente nos dio el dinero. [correcto]

If there is a preposition before the verb's object, you can place the adverb of manner either before the
Si hay una preposición antes del objeto del verbo, puede colocar el adverbio de modo antes de la
preposition or after the object.
preposición o después del objeto.
Examples
Ejemplos

• The
child ran happily towards his mother.
• El niño corrió alegremente hacia su madre.
• The child ran towards his mother happily.
• El niño corrió hacia su madre felizmente.
Adverbs of manner should always come immediately after verbs which have no object (intransitive
Los adverbios de modo siempre deben ir inmediatamente después de los verbos que no tienen objeto
verbs).
(verbos intransitivos).
Examples
Ejemplos

• Thetown grew quickly after 1997.

• La ciudad creció rápidamente después de 1997
• He waited patiently for his mother to arrive.
• Esperó pacientemente a que llegara su madre.
These common adverbs of manner are almost always placed directly after the verb: well, badly, hard,
Estos adverbios de modo comunes casi siempre se colocan directamente después del verbo: bien, mal,
& fast
duro y rápido
Examples
Ejemplos

• He
swam well despite being tired.
• Nadó bien a pesar de estar cansado.
• The rain fell hard during the storm.
• La lluvia cayó fuerte durante la tormenta
The position of the adverb is important when there is more than one verb in a sentence. If the adverb
La posición del adverbio es importante cuando hay más de un verbo en una oración. Si el adverbio se
is placed before or after the main verb, it modifies only that verb. If the adverb is placed after a clause, then it modifies the
coloca antes o después del verbo principal, modifica solo ese verbo. Si el adverbio se coloca después de una
whole action described by the clause. Notice the difference in meaning between the following sentences.
cláusula, modifica toda la acción descrita por la cláusula. Note la diferencia de significado entre las siguientes
oraciones.
 Example Meaning

Ejemplo Significado

She quickly agreed to re-type the letter. the agreement is quick

Rápidamente accedió a volver a escribir la carta. el acuerdo es rápido

She agreed quickly to re-type the letter. the agreement is quick

Aceptó rápidamente volver a escribir la carta. el acuerdo es rápido

She agreed to re-type the letter quickly. the re-typing is quick

Aceptó volver a escribir la carta rápidamente. la reescritura es rápida

He quietly asked me to leave the house. the request is quiet

Me pidió en voz baja que saliera de la casa. la solicitud es tranquila

He asked me quietly to leave the house. the request is quiet

Me pidió en voz baja que saliera de la casa. la solicitud es tranquila

He asked me to leave the house quietly. the leaving is quiet

Me pidió que saliera de la casa en silencio. la salida es tranquila

Literary usage
uso literario
Sometimes an adverb of manner is placed before a verb + object to add emphasis.

A veces se coloca un adverbio de modo antes de un verbo + objeto para agregar énfasis.

Examples
Ejemplos

• He gently woke the sleeping woman.

• Despertó suavemente a la mujer dormida.
• She angrily slammed the door.
 • Cerró la puerta con enojo.
Some writers put an adverb of manner at the beginning of the sentence to catch our attention and
Algunos escritores ponen un adverbio de modo al principio de la oración para llamar nuestra atención y
make us curious.
despertar nuestra curiosidad.
Examples
Ejemplos

• Slowly
she picked up the knife.
• Lentamente cogió el cuchillo.
• Roughly he grabbed her arm.
• Bruscamente la agarró del brazo

Remember!

¡Recordar!

Adverbs of manner modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They indicate how an action occurs
Los adverbios de modo modifican verbos, adjetivos y otros adverbios. Indican cómo ocurre o se
or develops.
desarrolla una acción.
Adverbs of Manner Exercises d. Happily

The following exercises will help you gain Answer: A. Walk quickly or you may miss the
greater understanding about how adverbs of bus.
manner work. Choose the best answer to 3. Reading ______________ helps you to
complete each sentence. understand concepts better.
1. The excited baby pounded the table a. Rapidly
_______________.
b. Briefly
a. Badly
c. Carefully
b. Hungrily
d. Always
c. Normally
Answer: C. Reading carefully helps you to
d. Variously understand concepts better.
Answer: B. The excited baby pounded the 4. Playing music too _______________ can
table hungrily. damage your hearing.
a. Slowly
b. Cheerfully
2. Walk ______________ or you may miss the
bus. c. Carelessly

a. Quickly d. Loudly

b. Slowly Answer: D. Playing music too loudly can

damage your hearing.
c. Personally
5. A tortoise walks _______________.
a. Mostly c. Happily
b. Slowly d. Eagerly
1. When my teacher talks too ___, it's difficult happily
to understand him.
quickly
slowly 10. Sometimes I need my teacher to talk more
quickly ___ so I can hear her better.
2. I always study ___ for a big test. slowly
hardly successfully
goodly hardly
hard
Find the adjective in the first sentence and fill
3. My dad used to shout ___ when he was
angry. the gap with the adverb.
loudly
loud
noise
happily
1. Joanne is happy. She smiles .

4. Please try to behave ___ when you meet my

family. 2. The boy is loud. He shouts .
quickly
normally
softly 3. Her English is fluent. She speaks

5. She did ___ in her tennis match last week.

She won. English .
well
bad
goodly 4. Our mum was angry. She spoke to

6. Please close the door ___ when you enter

my room. us .
gently
successfully
stupidly 5. My neighbour is a careless driver. He

7. I'm sitting ___ so I don't want to move.

normally drives .
comfortably
quickly
6. The painter is awful. He paints .
8. My husband sings ___ when he's in the
shower. Even the neighbours can hear him.
7. Jim is a wonderful piano player. He
enthusiastically
bigly
quietly
plays the piano .
9. She laughs ___ at my jokes.
angrily
well
 8. This girl is very quiet. She often sneaks 5 Peter, don't drive so ___, please.

fastly fast
out of the house .

6 The dog barks ____.

9. She is a good dancer. She dances

loudly loud
really .
7 It's a ____ rainy day.
10. This exercise is simple.
terrible terribly

You have to put one word in

8 I tasted the soup ____ because it was very

each space.
____.

careful / hotly carefully / hot

Elige la respuesta correcta. 9 Young people learn ____.

1 Rosemary was sitting in a chair, ____, easily and quickly easy and quick

reading a book. 10 You will have ____ ten minutes to finish the

exam.

calm calmly exact exactly

2 The teacher talked ____ to the students.

clear clearly

3 Driving his car, he was ____.

fast and furious fastly and furious Choose the best adverb of manner that will
complete the sentence.
4 She is a ____ director.
1. She dances .
good well
a) loudly

b) gracefully
 c) hardly
4. The government imposes the rules.

2. I can understand what the old man is a) purposefully

saying.
b) angrily
a) barely
c) strictly
b) instantly

c) precisely
5. Marina speaks with her boyfriend
during the basketball game.

3. Allen is singing in front of the people in a) softly

the park.
b) angrily
a) loudly
c) both a and b are possible
answers
b) gracefully
d) Neither a nor b is a possible
c) blatantly
answer